Sensemaker

... so how is Boris Johnson going to prepare for the possible rise in Covid cases? This week, he announced his plan. The question is: will it work, and will we avoid another lockdown? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK's home secretary, Priti Patel, has announced plans to authorise "pushbacks" of migrant boats in the English Channel. It is a policy condemned as dangerous and... possibly, illegal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, is leading the charge to hold the World Cup every two years not four. Is this an innovation too far from one of football's change-makers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Syria descended into a bloody and brutal civil war ten years ago, many multinational companies pulled out of the country. One stayed. Now, it's facing allegations that it was complicit in crimes against humanity.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. Will it come to regret its decision? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was a real concern at the start of the pandemic that lockdowns would lead to a spike in suicides. But recent figures show an opposite trend. It’s a positive shift, but the question is: why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government has just put up National Insurance to help pay for the NHS to recover from Covid and to improve social care. Did they choose to increase that particular tax because a lot of us don't know what it is? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Schools in England have gone back this week, and there's real worry about a surge in Covid infections. What can we learn from what's happened to infections this summer?You can get the Sensemaker newsletter as an email delivered to your inbox once a day. It’s our editors’ pick of the stories that matter most right now, and why, in brief. You can sign up here for free. Or, if you’d like to join Tortoise as a fully-fledged member, activate your 30-day free trial to access all our journalism.For more information on today's episode, visit tortoisemedia.com/listen. Transcripts of each episode will be made available on the same day.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big opioid case has been settled in court. Purdue Pharma, one of the drugs companies behind the opioid epidemic has been dissolved, and the family that ran it agreed to pay a mammoth $4.5 billion court settlement. The payout will go to help victims of the crisis, but is money enough? What about justice? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Kabul fell, the Foreign Secretary tripped up. Dominic Raab was famously on holiday. But was it an accident that he became front-page news? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.